Defender's Heartbeat 2

Chapter 11

Manuel

I went to Enzo's room to make sure he had come home from Pedro's house. I found him curled up in bed, gasping for air, his body tense in the fetal position.

"Baby, what happened?" I asked gently, reaching out to him. His face was soaked with tears, and his pillow was damp. I had no idea how long he had been crying like this. Guilt surged through me for ignoring him, for punishing him. I thought maybe he would learn something from it and stop repeating the same mistakes. But now, it seemed like something far worse had happened.

He looked up at me, his eyes swollen and red from crying.

"Is it because I haven't been talking to you, son?" I asked, brushing my hand through his hair, feeling the weight of regret settle over me.

"Pedro beat me with his belt," he whispered.

"What the hell?" I snapped, my blood boiling. Was he serious? Was this some twisted act, or was he turning out to be like his Papa? Did everyone in this family have some sick need to abuse Enzo for their own amusement?

Fury surged through me, and in a fit of helpless rage, I slammed my fist into Enzo's vase, shattering the roses inside. I pulled him into my arms, holding him tightly, my teeth grinding with anger. One thing was clear: I couldn't even trust Pedro. There was something deeply wrong with this family—maybe it was genetic.

But I wasn't going to let go of Enzo, not ever. I raised him. He was my heartbeat, my son.

"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered, my voice thick with pain. "I can't do anything about it. I feel so useless."

Pedro

"You did what?" Louis shouted at me.

"It was a mistake," I muttered.

"I know he's an annoying pig, but why the hell did you beat him with a damn belt, Pedro? You said you wanted to help him, and now you're acting like Papa," Louis snapped.

"I don't think he'll ever trust me again," I said, feeling the weight of my actions.

"Of course he won't! He'll be even closer to that idiot Manuel now, thanks to you," Louis added, his voice dripping with frustration.

"Elena said I should apologize," I admitted.

"What's that?" Louis asked, sounding completely clueless.

"Ask for forgiveness, you idiot! Are you kidding me right now?" I yelled, losing my patience.

"Wow, wow, calm down. Are you planning to beat the crap out of me with your stupid belt too, Pedro? Well, if you try that, I'll hit back. I'm not Enzo," Louis said, his tone mocking as he tried to provoke me even further.

"Why the hell are you all making me angrier and angrier?" I screamed, slamming my fist onto the desk, my knuckles white from clenching them so tightly.

"Calm down, man. Can't you control your anger?" Louis said, trying to sound reasonable.

"Really, Louis? When was the last time you controlled your anger?" I shot back. That finally shut him up. His temper was worse than mine, and we both knew it.

"Fine. We can't fix this. Just let it go and pretend nothing happened. He'll never trust you again. And that Manuel guy will always look at us like we're Enzo's enemies," Louis said coldly.

I stood up, angry, and stormed out of the room, heading straight to the mansion.

"Pedro," Papa called out as soon as he saw me. He was the last person I wanted to talk to right now.